Tumor targeting by peptide decorated gold nanoparticles

Cancer remains one of the most important challenges in biomedical sciences. Chemotherapeutic agents are very potent molecules that exhibit a significant level of toxicity in numerous tissues of the body, particularly in those characterized by high proliferative activity, such as the bone marrow. The scenario is even more complex in the case of the central nervous system, and in particular brain tumors, where the blood brain barrier limits the efficacy of drug therapies. Integrins, transmembrane proteins widely expressed in different types of cancer (glioblastoma, melanoma, and breast cancer), regulate the angiogenic process and play a pivotal role in tumor growth and invasion. Here, we report a nanotechnology strategy based on the use of AuNPs decorated with an arginine-glycine-aspartic acid-like peptide for the diagnosis and treatment of cancer. Two hours after administration in mice, the accumulation of the peptide-decorated NPs in the subcutaneous tumor was ∼4-fold higher than that of uncoated particles and ∼1.4-fold higher than that of PEGylated particles. Also, in the case of the intracranial tumor model, interesting results were obtained. Indeed, 2 h after administration, the amount of peptide-decorated particles in the brain was 1.5-fold that of undecorated particles and 5-fold that of PEGylated particles. In conclusion, this preliminary study demonstrates the high potential of this carrier developed for diagnostic and therapeutic applications.